John Walton, one of the original cast members of The Young Doctors, has died at the age of 62.

The Sydney-born actor featured in the 1973 ABC telemovie adaptation of The Taming Of The Shrew and had studied at NIDA. In 1976 he was appearing in a theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing when he was spotted by Reg Grundy Productions‘ casting director Kerry Spence. “I was casting for The Young Doctors at the time and I said to myself, there’s my boy for (character) Craig Rothwell. He’s very matinee idol, good for a soapie,” Spence told TV Times in 1977.

Walton starred as playboy Dr Craig Rothwell for two years. He then appeared in Melbourne-based Crawfords dramas The Sullivans, Cop Shop and Skyways.

Later TV credits included Bellamy, Bodyline, Five Mile Creek, Winners, Palace Of Dreams, A Thousand Skies, The Adventures Of Skippy, GP, A Country Practice, Home And Away, Heartbreak High, All Saints, Blue Heelers, McLeod’s Daughters and Sea Patrol.

He also starred in films including The Lighthorsemen.

A memorial service for Walton will be held at the University of NSW’s Fig Tree Theatre on Saturday 19 July at 11.00am.

Source: TV Tonight, Sydney Morning Herald, IMDB. TV Times, 26 March 1977.